Question pertaining to "Objectivism" and Machiavellian pragmatism

The Objectivist dogma seems to suggest that all must be done for the 'self' and 'my consciousness'.

Combining this with Machiavelli's pragmatism (or using it as a way to get what you want) seems to be the height of egotistical thinking. Or, is Machiavelli no longer pragmatic in this scenario because it is applied with regards to a 'self-serving' morality?

Is the problem ultimately the self based philosophy of Obj.? Or even broader: is Objectivism just an 'excuse' to apply stuff for one's own gain?

This may seem rather obvious, but I'm trying to grab a bit of advice on the issue- because I don't see it as difficult for some person stuffed with themselves to go ahead and abuse Machiavelli's terminology like this: "I am a prince. I am not constrained by morality. I will do anything and everything to get what I want."

The prince always just struck me as what is realistically needed to manage a country, but not some term to be applied to self-bloated folks. Or am I walking a dangerous line here unawares?

How one views the prince is dependent on one's lens. For the western man, intellectually and culturally, all is viewed as a projection of the self. Objectivism is better stated as narcissism. The Objectivist does not actually transcend morality, he believes deeply in it. Rather, his moral code is constantly being amended such that he never will feel amoral in his action.